Power Ranking the Lions new coaching and front office hires
Detroit Lions: Coaching and Front Office Power Rankings
Moves that I really like …
5. John Dorsey – Senior Personnel Executive
Here’s another guy that is arguably overqualified for his role with the Lions, and also arguably in a role that suits his strengths more than his previous one. Dorsey has already been an NFL GM twice, first with the Chiefs and most recently with the Browns.
Dorsey is highly regarded as one of the best talent evaluators in the game, responsible for drafting players such as Travis Kelce, Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, and trading up two spots to get Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft.
As Jeff Risdon notes in this breakdown of Dorsey’s strengths and weaknesses, Dorsey’s proudly confrontational personality and questionable tactics in piecing coaching staffs together were his downfall as a general manager. Luckily, those faults will be muted to some degree with his job title in Detroit, and Dorsey will be put to use doing what he does best.
This is in a perfect world, of course. Whether his personality causes too much friction to be productive in Allen Park remains to be seen. However, in John Dorsey, the Lions are getting a highly competent player evaluator in a move that carries far more upside than drawbacks.
Here’s move I have no problem with …
6. Aaron Glenn – Defensive coordinator
Glenn will be a first-time coordinator and taking over the thankless job of whipping the worst defense in Detroit Lions history into shape.
After spending the last five seasons coaching the Saints’ secondary, Glenn’s big promotion will see him taking the same route as Dan Campbell, from New Orleans up to Detroit. Though he hasn’t been a coordinator yet, going into the offseason, Glenn was one of the hottest names to make a leap from positional coach to leading an entire defense.
Glenn is an up-and comer-rather than a known quantity at this point, but he earned high praise for his work with the Saints’ defensive backs. Up and coming Lions DBs Jeff Okudah, Tracy Walker, and Amani Oruwariye should at least be able to maximize their talents given Glenn’s track record. As for the rest of the D, that will be up to Holmes and Dorsey to up the overall talent.